Welcome to the Faithful Four! From an initial field of 32 saints, we are down to a holy four: Harriet Tubman, Hildegard of Bingen, Elizabeth Fry, and Joseph. In just a few short days, one of these saintly souls will be awarded the coveted Golden Halo.
To get to this point, Harriet took down Julie Billiart, James Solomon Russell, and Herman of Alaska, while Hildegard got past Romanos the Melodist, Elizabeth the New Martyr ,and Brother Lawrence. (note: click on the name of the vanquished saint to read that round's write-up)
Throughout Lent Madness, our saintly heroes have battled via basic bios, quirks and quotes, and event kitsch. In this round, we let our remaining Celebrity Bloggers loose as they answer the question “Why should Saint XX win the Golden Halo?” In other words, they’ve been charged with letting us know why their particular saint is so awesome. We have also invited them to share their two favorite images of their saints.
And as a side note, not that our wonderful Celebrity Bloggers are competing against each other per se, but this matchup does contain an interesting twist as our two newest Lent Madness contributors work to advance their respective saints. Both Sandra Montes and Miguel Escobar work at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, Sandra as Interim Worship Director and Miguel as Executive Director of Anglican Studies. Talk about in-house bragging rights!
Well, it's time to vote. Go do your thing!
Harriet Tubman
When I was invited to write for Lent Madness I was so excited because I had been playing and watching along for years! When asked for my top ten saints, I immediately put Harriet Tubman as my first choice. I taught about Tubman when I was a teacher, I love reading about her and her tenacity, I also really enjoy hearing sermons about her. I remember one in particular preached at the Chapel of the Cross in NC and then presiding bishop-elect Curry, quoted Tubman, “If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going… Don’t give up, don’t give in… if you want to taste freedom, keep going!” I was “Amen-ing!” and “Mmhmm-ing!” And I thought to myself, I can’t, I won’t give up no matter what.
Today, as I write this, I know Harriet is going against my wonderful friend Miguel Escobar’s saint, Hildegard, and I say to myself again, “No, I can’t give up!”
Harriet Tubman is an inspiration to any person who has felt in shackles. Any one of us who has ever looked to the heavens and begged, “Hear my cry!” feels hope and finds strength from Harriet’s story. Tubman saw visions and had dreams she interpreted as revelations from God that, I am certain, helped her continue to have strength, courage and intelligence to keep going, to keep helping and never give up.
She was born into slavery but decided that was not the path for her. She didn’t have to help others, but she chose to. She
knew there was something more and went for it. What a testimony for any of us who are looked down upon or who are told we are not worthy to be of service or to have an amazing legacy. She couldn’t read or write but she was determined to be free. She was told no many times, but she kept at it.
She not only helped many enslaved people be free, as Jesus does, she also helped as a cook and a nurse and even led an armed assault during the Civil War! As Frederick Douglass wrote, she “labored in a private way… in the night” and what she is now known for may “seem improbable.” And, it very well may be improbable for us to imagine, but as the Bible says, all things are possible if we believe and, we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.
In this time of pandemic, of fear, of confusion, death and pain, let us remember God’s promises, as did Harriet. Let us keep going. Let us keep believing. Let us never give up.
Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bignen’s morality play Ordo Virtutum, composed around 1151, is about the struggle for a human soul, Anima, between the Virtues and the Devil. Importantly, the Virtues’ parts are sung by female voices, and were likely first sung by the nuns at Hildegard’s abbey, but the Devil is voiced by a male and never sings. Instead, he yells. He grunts. His appeal is wrapped up in lies and brash loudness. The play is about a soul wavering between the appeal of the Virtues and that of the Devil’s shouting, a singular fact that makes Hildegard’s work and vision especially relevant today.
For I believe that America’s soul is at risk today. Like Anima in Ordo Virtutum, we appear to be pushed and pulled between the quieter appeal of ancient Virtues and the Devil’s lies and bellowing. Further, I fear this is especially the case when it comes to global issues such as climate change as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Whose voices are we to believe?
The reason why I am making a case for Hildegard of Bignen today - against my good friend Sandra Montes’ appeal for Harriet Tubman, no less - is 1) that this is what I signed up to do when I agreed to write for this project but also 2) because I believe people -- indeed, perhaps even creation itself -- is longing for a visionary who will help point a way beyond this quagmire. With the effects of climate change closing in, and a bellowing nationalism resulting in less international coordination rather than more, we desperately need examples of ancient wisdom who will radically transform our relationship to consumption, to creation, and to truth itself.
As I wrote in this post for Lent Madness, Hildegard of Bignen has special relevance for a humanity seeking pathways for reconnecting to God’s creation. Drawing on her experience of the German forest as well as the medicinal garden at her abbey, Hildegard famously observed that “the Earth sweats greeness” and laid out a visionary theology wherein she saw Christ as sent by God for the ‘greening’ of humanity. In this vision, God is the source of both our own and creation’s abundant flourishing. This was such a central part of her vision that in the morality play Ordo Virtutum, the struggle over Anima is about whether the human soul can become reconnected to the Creator. In Causae et Curae, Hildegard again draws from this well of thought by arguing that human health is analogous to a thriving garden in that both are the result of the knowledgeable tending by a gardener/healer.
As the global threats of climate change and COVID-19 make abundantly clear, we humans are interconnected and entirely
dependent on being in a healthy relationship with God’s creation. Furthermore, there is no promised land to escape to; we’ve only one Earth and I believe we have a decreasing amount of time to radically reorient how we will exist in this world.
Will we continue to listen to the loud bellowing of climate-change deniers, white nationalists, and isolationists whose primary appeal is the fantasy that we can blindly continue in our individualistic, hyper-consumerist, and exploitative culture? Or will we, at list, begin to listen to the quieter melodies of ancient virtues, rediscovering a simpler way and reconnecting with God and our creation? Hildegard’s mystical vision, her musical compositions, and her scientific insights from the 12th century may be just the saint we need to face today’s challenges.
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164 comments on “Harriet Tubman vs. Hildegard of Bingen”
What a terrible time to VOTE, my first love Harriett and my earthly passion the growing of plants and herbs in our new home/condo! It is a learning experience to get anything to grow that I did in our home of 51 years, but, we must move on! This COVID19 has made all of us take note of what is important in This life we are all facing! But, not withstanding my love of growing beautiful flowers and especially herbs, my Vote is for Harriett! Not sure I know of anyone more courageous and just plain strong in her faith to Her people Free! Do sure how I will be able to vote In The next few days, but , all I have is TODAY! Yesterday Palm Sunday our family lost a beautiful talented smart niece 57; to a blood clot after having gone thru gene therapy, which worked and was then transferred to another hospital to keep her isolated and safe! Well, God has His own timeline and He took Her home to Him! Rest I. peace with our Maker Susan! Peace to all and to all a good day!
Very sorry for your loss. Have a blessed Holy Week.
And peace and a good day to you. You're in my prayers.
I am not sure if I misread or misinterpreted, but it seemed to me that today's write up for Hildegard was more about American politics than about Hildegard. I continue to vote for the PERSON I think should be given the halo rather than how that person reflects on our life today. But I am sure there are many many reasons for a vote, and all are valid.
Here is an antidote to demonic shouting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3z79a42cR4
That’s how a leader speaks.
I watched her speech yesterday and was so moved by it. I especially liked her use of the term "fellow feeling." Maybe we will recover that quality, someday.
Thank you for sharing this.
The Queen is an awesome woman !!!
TBTG
I agree with you, this looked like a political view of the writer
I agree. The writer has every right to his anger, of course; but is this the most appropriate time and place to express anger at a political party?
I think Harriet will come out on top today, but I voted for Hildegard. Hildegard's mysticism, her music, her saying "the earth sweats green-ness," and Miguel's write-up were behind my vote.
Beautiful arguments on the part of both bloggers! You folks sure know how to make these heaven -shattering choices more challenging. . . but in the end, Mr. Escobar nearly brought me to tears with his cogent defense of Hildegard, who is, indeed, uniquely tied to our times.
Thank you to both bloggers for these beautiful write-ups that hold up the values needed to save our struggling world!
How did Harriet Tubman arrive at sainthood?
She fought the good fight, she finished her race, and she kept the faith!
2 Timothy 4:7-8 ESV
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
If you don’t think risking your life to save others at the direction of God is cause for sainthood, then I don’t know what to tell you, my friend.
I think you may be asking by whom and by what process she was declared a saint. While some churches have formal canonization processes, others haven’t. In the Anglican tradition, for example, there is no such process, and no one has been formally canonized since the schism with Roman Catholicism.
Anglicanism continued to celebrate the days of certain saints mentioned in the New Testament, and the Feast of All Saints, but substantially removed all other canonized saints from the Calendar. Over time a few others were added, but the number of saints’ days in our 1928 Prayer Book remained small.
The years after 1928 saw a renewal of interest in the lives of postbiblical saints and the practice of remembering or venerating them, and the Church Calendar in the 1979 Prayer Book reflected that development by restoring many of the traditional feast days. The triennial publication “Lesser Feasts and Fasts” provides an updated list of the days specifically authorized by General Convention. But there is no prohibition against celebrating other days; and the Church also publishes other calendars, “Holy Women, Holy Men” and “A Great Cloud of Witnesses,” for trial use.
The result of all this is that the Calendar has become rather messy, and work is under way to bring more order to it. The main theological point, which I maybe should have stated at the beginning of this comment, is that we are returning to the New Testament view according to which every Christian is a saint, and that we all have arrived at sainthood with the gift, and the responsibility, of giving it expression.
Hope this helps.
Beautifully and thoroughly stated, Davis. Thanks.
I had been very confused myself. Davis, I'm cut-and-pasting your reply to save in my files. Thank you!
This is the hardest choice I’ve faced in my few years of voting in Lent Madness. While Hildegard von Bingen is a “kindred spirit,” I had to cast my vote for nearby “hometown” hero Harriet Tubman (am near Auburn NY). Either way this comes out, both of these saints are blessed role models to have.
It only gets harder as the numbers reduce. Two fabulous female saints to choose between, and two compelling posts buy passionate, engaging bloggers. I'm sure I'm not the only one on the comment thread, which I haven't yet read, is somehow wishes they could vote for both. But in the end, I had to go for Harriet, in part, but not only, because I had promised to support her or James Solomon Russell as long as Clare of Assisi was no longer in the mix. Harriet's persistence working in the dark in dark times speaks so much to our need these days.
Hildegard von Bingen has been one of my spiritual guides for decades now. Both my husband and I are musicians; he began to study organ when he retired from data processing; I am clergy; both of us sing; we love her music! I reverently and gratefully vote for her today.
Go, Harriet, don't look back, the promised halo is on sight. 6
In another round, I went to the music link. I found O pastor animarum by Hildegard of Bingen. Apparently, she wrote both the music and words for several compositions! This one is now on my playlist. She was a remarkable woman!
This was a difficult decision! Two compelling women who have inspired me and so many others - no easy choice. I have to confess that this statement about Harriet Tubman is puzzling: "She was born into slavery but decided that was not the path for her."
saintly humor
A very eloquent set of passionate arguments.. and a very difficult vote for me. Great, great posts from both bloggers, and an equal match of two Titans today. Either candidate is worthy, and I REALLY didn't want to have to choose between them. I ultimately voted for Tubman, but feel like I sort of let Hildegard down. We really need SAINTS to look up to in these muddy, turgid days. I am very weary from all the game-playing evident in both our nation and our response to a virus which makes me wake at 3am in a sweat wondering if my loved ones will all survive. Both posts echoed the seriousness that undergirds these ragged days - not unlike the unsettled environment enveloping Jesus during this week. Stay safe everyone.
Such beautiful and inspirational writing from the celebrity bloggers. Both Tubman and Hildegard are more than worthy to represent our needs and values in today’s fearful world. My hope, my prayer, for these times is our wider population will, at last, see these times fit to reset, reorder, reprioritize our values to align, at last, with a kinder, nobler, more loving set of values set out by Jesus who set the standard for loving kindness. We need both these godly women in our lives, up front and setting an example of living and loving through impossible times in impossible ways....and succeeding! Spread the Lenten Madness! I am sad there are only a few days left of this inspiration. We, I, will need more to get through this Covid 19 Madness. Thank you, all.
all due respect to Hildegard, Harriet Tubman for the win!! (I mean the whole thing, she needs to be our Top Saint this year).
As much as I admire Harriet Tubman, and as much as I loved the writing and illustrating today of the post about her, I believe the bigger issue is us being stewards of creation, and Hildegard represents that to me. She also represents how music makes life more hopeful, more beautiful, and more meaningful. However, in light of the importance of the outcome, and the fact that the contest is also about the authors, someone should have proofread the Hildegard post (apologies for the OCD teacher coming out in me).
I was privileged to attend a performance of Hildegard's Ordo Virtutem many years ago and have been a fan ever since! I cannot vote for anyone else!
I am glad both of these saints made it to the final four. I had to vote for Harriet, but that does not diminish my love of Hildegard. Who knows, different times may have elicited a different vote.
Hardest vote of this Lent Madness season!
I tuly love the painting of Harriet. Can we find out who the artist is? Thanks!
Both of today's celebrity bloggers defend their saints well. Harriet Tubman's example of principled courage and resilience and Hildegard of Bingen's vision of greening are equally compelling. I ultimately voted for Hildegard, but Harriet will be a deserving winner should she hold her lead.
I was prepared to vote for Harriet. Have loved her for a long time. But the bellowing devil grabbed me.
Ever since my family and I have been following Lenten Madness (how many years now?), I have always supported Hildegard, but something about the times we are now living in and so much more, I have switched my support to Harriet.
How can I vote against such a brave, determined, generous person as Harriet? she put her life on the line repeatedly, not being satisfied to gain her own freedom but to help others gain freedom.
But I am a physician and a priest. Hildegard was not only an abbess known for arguing with archbishops, the emperor, and the pope, and prevailing!) but also a musician, a scientist (her book on "natural history" was a remarkable accomplishment), and a physician (her medical textbook was the standard for almost 200 years, and she was the first female physician to have her work published.) I have long been an admirer of hers, and I have to vote for her.
What inspiring write ups, both bloggers. Thank you.
I just finished reading Ta-Henisi Coates' The Water Dancer. "Harriet" or "Moses" is a key figure. She shares her ability to "conduct" visions with the "Tasker" Hiram. I highly recommend this book as both a good read and one to seriously consider. BUT like several other commenters, I must go with Hildegard. Harriett is well known. Her example is well known. Hildegard, as her sponsor points out, is relevant again or still in our global challenges of climate change and an insidious virus. Both force us to work together, if separately to revive our world. The message couldn't be clearer: to ignore the warnings of Hildegard, is to ignore them at our peril.
Wish I could cut my vote in half, so that I would then honor both remarkable and saintly women. But my vote is for Tubman. She calls us to resolve the unresolved issue of race in my beloved country.She points the way of a more perfect union.
Hey! Is it my imagination or has the write ups for the final four focus become more impassioned? I LOVE the personal reflections offered (modeled?) by the authors. Well done! Today’s readings showcase are exactly why I have tuned in since Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I’m thrilled for being inspired to pursue their writings this coming year of instability and crisis.
I have to vote for Harriet Tubman. We have a sculpture of her in Little Rock on the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Library. https://lrculturevulture.com/2016/04/20/sculpture-vulture-harriet-tubman-2/
Such an agonizing choice! I keep reminding myself that this exercise is just for fun, learning, and inspiration, and that both these women already have their Golden Halos. I was set to vote for Harriet, who has been a lifelong inspiration. But then I was swayed by Miguel's eloquent post on Hildegard. News reports have outlined the ways in which our disrespect for our environment have increased the frequency and deadliness of plagues like COVID 19. We have to get back to Hildegard's vision of the earth as a garden we are responsible for taking care of.